Learning Disability Week and being on TV!

Scott Watkin

I was really pleased to be asked to be interviewed by the BBC about the learning disability mortality review which the report is absolutely shocking. People are still dying too young just because they have a learning disability and not because they are ill.

I said people with learning disabilities should be able to get the same good quality health care as everybody else and not treated like second-class citizens.

I travelled to Bath cricket ground to meet Nikki Fox who interviewed me for the BBC1 6 pm and 10 pm news.

Nikki put me at ease whilst interviewing me it was a great experience. I got very emotional in the interview.I then travelled home to the Isle of Wight to watch the news to see myself on TV. My twitter went absolutely mental and people were proud of me.

Mencap’s Treat Me Well campaign is a long-term campaign to make sure everyone with a learning disability gets good health care. Learning disability week is really important to highlight learning disabilities and why people with learning disabilities should be able to have the same equal access to healthcare as everybody else.

We need learning disability nurses who can support in every hospital in every ward to advocate for people with learning disabilities.

Which means we need the bursaries put back in place to encourage more people to study learning disability nursing as they are vital and save our lives.

Reasonable adjustments

It’s not just about nurses. We need to get good health care and to be treated with respect and dignity just like everyone else. We need reasonable adjustment which are personalised to the person to get good health care. It’s shocking that one in four healthcare professionals have never had learning disability or autism training.

Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State Health and Social Care, don’t you think it's time you said within government to make sure people with learning disabilities get the same health care and treatment as everyone else.

And Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England, you need to make sure the learning disability team are speaking out and giving us the right health care, focusing on the wider learning disability agenda not just Transforming Care.

Enough is Enough!

You can find me taking over SeeAbility's Twitter account on Tuesday 19th June.

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